


dusk 'til dawn

by matskreider



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, Daddy Kink, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Oral Sex, Sickfic, Trans Male Character, in the sense that being sick and being taken care of can be considered hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 15:51:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14697402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matskreider/pseuds/matskreider
Summary: It starts with a sniffle. March always brings allergies with his arrival, and Pekka is not immune. He’d brushed it off as seasonal allergies, had taken some allergy pills, and had moved on with his life. But over the course of the next couple days, the sniffles turn to a cough, which turn to a fever, which turn into a full blown sickness. It’s only through Kari and Juuse’s insistence that Pekka goes to the doctor, and she tells him with a small laugh that he’s caught the flu.





	dusk 'til dawn

**Author's Note:**

> this was inspired by [an ask](https://matskreider.tumblr.com/post/174018152992/boss-baby-au-in-which-pekka-gets-the-flu-and) that i got recently 
> 
> also just assume that they're speaking finnish the whole time unless specifically noted otherwise

It starts with a sniffle. March always brings allergies with his arrival, and Pekka is not immune. He’d brushed it off as seasonal allergies, had taken some allergy pills, and had moved on with his life. But over the course of the next couple days, the sniffles turn to a cough, which turn to a fever, which turn into a full blown sickness. It’s only through Kari and Juuse’s insistence that Pekka goes to the doctor, and she tells him with a small laugh that he’s caught the flu.

“Isn’t it a little late for that?” he protests, but her calm smile doesn’t reassure him that much. She hands him a little note with instructions for him to get rest, drink plenty of fluids, and to gargle salt water as necessary for the throat pain. Pekka takes the note reluctantly and shuffles his way back to the car, where Kari’s sitting in the back seat.

Pekka opens the door and all but throws himself into the car, coughing into his elbow. Kari gives him a raised brow from the other side of the car, pausing in his typing on his phone. “What’s the diagnosis?” he asks, legs crossed on the black leather seat.

Pekka looks out the window, refusing to answer out of some weird combination of shame and pride. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kari shrug and return to his phone, rapping his knuckle twice on the car window. The car starts up and begins to peel away from the curb, and Pekka tries, unsuccessfully, to cover a cough.

This is the worst possible time for him to get sick. It’s the middle of the fiscal year, which means that it’s time for contract renegotiations with a few of his bought and paid for businesses. Some of the longer-term contracts, like Juuse’s fashion line, a few airlines, and a couple restaurants on either side of the Atlantic, had already been handled. Some of his newer ventures, so new they’re still unread in his inbox, would need a more delicate handling. He doesn’t want to broadcast that he’s out for the count for at least the next week, but he also doesn’t know who he can trust to take over. He’s not going to let someone else step in as him, he’s not that stupid. It never works, and establishing a new relationship based on a lie will never work.

His already pounding headache takes a turn for the worse with all the thinking he’s doing. At this rate, he’ll think himself into an early grave.

The car pulls into the front circle, and Kari ducks out of the car first, before coming around and opening Pekka’s door.

“Well if you’re not going to tell _me_ , you best have an explanation for your little one in there,” Kari murmurs as he taps the trunk of the car. The driver slowly moves forward, the tires crunching on the white gravel.

“Why, he’s been asking?”

Kari’s less than impressed with his faux innocence. “Of course he has, Boss, who do you think I was texting the entire time?”

They go through the two front doors, Pekka barely restraining another cough. Kari takes the crumpled paper out of his hand and hands it to Miro, who’s standing at the foot of the stairs. “Have a bit of everything sent to his room, and if we don’t have any, buy some.”

Miro gives him a mute nod and turns on his heel, heading down the long hall into the kitchen.

“You don’t have to send them to do it, I can do it myself,” Pekka insists, leaning against the marble column around which the banister curls.

“ _You_ will be doing no such thing,” Kari admonishes. “I’m not going to babysit you, but I am going to do my damndest to make sure I don’t have to start answering to a new Boss anytime soon.”

“It’s just the flu,” Pekka mutters with a dismissing wave of his hand. “I’m not dying.”

“How would I have known if you didn’t tell me in the car?”

Pekka’s rebuttal is cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Just from the gait alone, he knows it’s Juuse – he’s the only one besides Pekka who isn’t constantly packing heat, and he’s far lighter than Pekka. He closes his eyes and rests his forehead against the cool wood of the bannister, trying to breathe through what feels like concrete walls in his nose.

“The flu? Isn’t it late for that?” Juuse asks, slowing to a stop on the stairs nearest to Pekka. Pekka lifts his head slightly, letting Juuse’s colder fingers probe along his brow. It feels nice, and he’s hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion that makes him sway a little bit. He feels Kari’s arms coming around him, pulling him off the bannister.

“Evidently not. He hasn’t started throwing up yet, so keep an eye out for that. Miro will…” The rest of Kari’s words filter out as listening becomes much too hard for Pekka to even attempt to do. His body aches all over, and he knows that the worst is yet to come. Somehow, through a support system he thinks is made of Kari and Juuse, he’s brought up the stairs and down the main hallway, until he’s finally sitting on his bed.

Vaguely, he hears Kari whispering something to Juuse, and Juuse’s insistent reply. Then the door closes and he manages to pry open his eyes. “Wha-?”

Juuse just presses the back of his hand to Pekka’s forehead. “Babe, your fever’s getting worse by the minute,” he murmurs, concern woven within each word. Juuse ducks out of Pekka’s frame of vision, but moving his head feels like too much effort.

He does manage to help Juuse get himself undressed, until he’s in his boxers and an undershirt. After that, he collapses down onto the soft comforter behind him. He would have been content to sleep that way, but it’s impossible to breathe, so he has to adjust. The moment his head is actually on a pillow, he passes out.

The next time he wakes up, it’s because Juuse is gently shaking his shoulder. Everything hurts, and he wants to tell him that, but Juuse holds up a water bottle and suddenly Pekka realizes how thirsty he is. He takes a steadying breath, before pulling himself upright, rubbing his eyes.

“Here you go,” Juuse murmurs, pressing the bottle opening to his lips.

The water soothes his throat, enough that when he finally pulls back he can actually ask, “What time is it?”

“It’s 4:45, Miro dropped off the stuff a while ago. He asked how you were doing. I said you were hanging in there.” Juuse gives him two Tylenol to take, which Pekka gratefully does. He hates being sick, but he hates being sick even more when he has opportunities on the line. He didn’t get to where he is today by procrastinating and hoping others did his work for him.

His eyes feel gritty still, but at least his headache is somewhat gone. The fever is still present, though, judging by the pain radiating through his back. He notices the bright colors of a few bags of cough drops on the bedside table, and starts rifling through until he can find the kinds he wants. They’re not really cough drops, more like vitamin drops, which is essentially candy. But they taste good and wake him up a bit, and with some citrus in his system he has to be helping _something_.

Juuse runs his fingers through his hair as he watches, biting his lower lip. Pekka gives him a look as he takes another sip of water.

“Nothing, nothing, I just. Don’t like it when people are sick, is all,” Juuse says softly, shifting a bit in place. He’s wearing one of Pekka’s t-shirts, the soft casual ones for when he’s not working on business. The leggings he has on are his own, but he looks like a small ninja, dressed in all black like that.

Pekka reaches out and tugs softly on the hem of the shirt, getting Juuse’s attention. The smaller Finn sits on the edge of the bed in response, looking up at him through his lashes. It makes Pekka’s heart pound, and he can’t help the little coo that escapes. “I’ll be fine, little one. I’m not old enough yet that the flu’s going to take me out,” he murmurs, giving a reassuring smile.

Juuse sighs, and puts his hand on Pekka’s wrist. “I know that. But I also know that you won’t rest and let yourself recover like you need to. Your body can’t fight this off if you’re still traveling to make business deals and stuff. Daddy, you need to take care of yourself.” He’s pouting, however slightly, but it’s enough that Pekka can feel his resolve slipping a little.

“How about a compromise?”

Juuse gives him a side glance, but raises a brow in encouragement. “I’m listening.” 

“I work from home as much as I can, and if I need to travel anywhere, I’ll see if I can send someone in my place.” It’s not the ideal situation, in fact Pekka hates it with every fiber of his being, but he has contingency plans in place for this very reason. He doesn’t _want_ to hand over the future of these deals to various people scattered throughout the Family, but he was bound to call in a few favors here and there anyway.

Juuse hums in thought, looking down at his black painted nails. “No Skype calls, or FaceTime, or whatever other kind of video call. Just emails or texts; that’s all you’re allowed to do.”

Pekka whines, but it catches in his throat and triggers a coughing fit. The way Juuse’s looking at him now tells him that he inadvertently proved his point.

“…Okay. Fine. But can you get me my laptop please?” Juuse doesn’t seem all that impressed still, but he does stand off the edge of the bed and move across their bedroom to the computer on the desk in the far corner.

“Also you’re going to need to address the House at some point, or at least the people that you want to talk to about filling in some roles,” Juuse says as he grabs the MacBook, handing it over to Pekka as he settles on the bed. “Miikka and Mikko have been briefed about the situation already, and they’re making some soup for you. My dinner will be delivered, I’m gonna eat up here. Oh, I also put some feelers out to get a sense of how your temporary replacements might be doing.”

Pekka pauses in the middle of typing in his password. “You did what?”

“Well it’s no surprise that you’re going to elect Kari to be one of them, he’s the one that you trust the most in this House because he’s the only one that can even attempt to keep you in line when it comes to your biggest weakness.”

He waits a moment, during which Juuse simply raises an eyebrow at him. “Me, Daddy. It’s me.”

To be fair, he should have expected such an answer. It was true, anyway. “Who else?”

“Tuukka, the Antti’s, and Olli,” Juuse answers through a yawn. Pekka feels kinda bad – they both haven’t been sleeping that well since Pekka started getting sick, and he thinks that Juuse’s going to opt to sleep in his own room until he starts getting better. “And I’m just waiting to hear back from them.”

Nearly all of those were on Pekka’s shortlist of people for temporary replacements. He thinks if he asks Juuse about his reasoning, it will also mirror his own. How much of this did Juuse put together by himself, and how much of it was out of sheer observation of his own past actions? Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Juuse reclining against the white pillows, his phone resting on his thigh. He meets his gaze, and gives him a small smile. “Have I impressed you yet, Daddy?”

“You’ve done far more than that, little one.”

The smile he gets in response makes his body warm in a way that has nothing to do with the fever.

After that, they each turn their attention to their own kinds of work. Though the screen makes Pekka’s headache threaten to return, he pushes through, sending the emails that he needs to and making notes to himself as to which deal gets which person. He hears back from Olli and Tuukka the fastest, and he almost hesitates to give them the information that they need. But he knows that they’re also the ones that he’d ask second and third – after Kari, because Juuse’s no fool – to replace him in a physical meeting. It means that he finds himself on a few airline sites, buying tickets for Olli to head up to New York, while Tuukka goes over to Shanghai. The email he uses to send Kari the receipts is the same email he uses to ask Kari if he’d be his replacement for an in-person meeting happening in Raleigh in a few days. It was supposed to be the first one that he went to, but with each word he types he can feel the congestion settling above his eyes. Next to him, Juuse’s alternating between being on his own computer and on his phone, probably editing pictures and posting them on Instagram, if he was being honest with himself. He kinda wished he’d known that their most recent vacation would have been his last for a while, and he wouldn’t mind putting a couple on his own, but it’s been a few hours and he has to close his computer, sliding it away with a groan.

Immediately, Juuse’s attention is back on him. “Head hurt?” he asks, already reaching for the Tylenol bottle.

Pekka mutely nods, and reaches a hand out in thanks to take the offered pills. “Tuukka and Olli are on board,” he mutters, sliding down under the covers. Juuse moves his laptop away, and he resists the urge to bury his head completely under the blankets like he would do when he was a child – he can barely breathe as it is. “Literally. They should be heading towards the airport now.”

Juuse coos softly and gently brushes his fingers across his brow. He shivers at the touch, and tries to bury further under the blankets in response. “Daddy, you’re burning up.”

“I feel cold,” he mumbles, knowing intuitively that this is how fevers work but also wanting to get away from the cold as much as possible. He barely restrains a cough, but it makes his chest ache.

“I know, I know.” He hears Juuse trying to comfort him just as the door opens.

“Hej,” Miro says softly, carrying in a tray of something. “Miikka and Mikko send their well wishes.”

Juuse lays a hand on Pekka’s shoulder, his thumb rubbing his shoulder blade gently through the covers. “Tell them thank you.”

Miro sets the tray up and with a polite nod, he retreats back out of the room, closing the doors behind him. Through bleary eyes, Pekka can see that there’s two metal coverings on the wheeled tray – one silver (his own) and one rose gold (Juuse’s).

Juuse slides off the bed and opens up Pekka’s meal, revealing a bowl of what must be soup and a mug of tea. Pekka hates both of these with a burning passion, but he’s sick and swallowing feels like his throat is closing, so he’ll take any bit of help that he can get. He watches, sporadically, as Juuse adds honey and lemon to the tea, blowing on it gently to get it to cool to a drinking temperature.

Pekka wants to act like he can fall back asleep and ignore what Juuse’s inevitably going to ask him to do next, but he has to. Sure enough, Juuse asks him to sip on the tea, just a little bit. It hurts to sit up and the tea itself is scalding but it makes Juuse smile at him and that’s enough for him. His body is lagging now, and he feels more fatigued than before, but Juuse manages to convince him to take a few more sips of tea, and a couple bites of soup, before he’s allowed to go to sleep.

The moment his head hits the pillow, he’s out cold.

 

* * *

 

His dreams are weird, and he forgets them as soon as he opens his eyes. But he’s left with the lingering feeling of panic and anxiety that he always attributes with nightmares and fever dreams. It’s clearly the middle of the night, Juuse fast asleep next to him. Outside, snow falls, big fat flakes of white that dapple the covers over Juuse’s sleeping body. He sits up, and manages to take some Tylenol and a few desperate gulps of water, before he’s able to settle back down.

He stares at the dark ceiling, trying to will himself back to sleep – to convince himself that he’s not making a mistake, and that they’ll be okay even if these deals don’t close – it’s 4am in New York but it’s 4pm in Shanghai, so that means when he wakes up he’ll hopefully have some news from Tuukka, who can definitely handle himself in a foreign country.

They’ve all been doing it for years, after all.

Eventually, he’s able to bring himself back to the edge of sleep, and with a final adjustment to a slightly colder side of the pillow, he falls over the edge.

 

* * *

 

The next time Pekka awakens, it’s later in the day. The sun is up, coming in through the blinds, reflecting off the small puddles left behind by the already melting midnight snow. Juuse’s side of the bed is cold, but the trays from the night prior are gone, replaced with their usual breakfast orders, so he’s not sure exactly how much time has passed. He hears humming coming from the ensuite, and he slowly brings himself upright.

There’s a trail of workout clothes leading to the tiled floor, meaning that Juuse’s probably back from cycling. Or maybe kickboxing. He forgets what day it is.

Sure enough, Juuse’s in the shower, humming along to some kind of pop song playing through the speakers. It’s low enough that Pekka wasn’t able to hear it from the bedroom, and he appreciates the considerate volume. Washing his face and brushing his teeth make him feel more human than he has in the past few days. He knows he’ll eventually get to the point where he just has to sit in bed and fester, useless and ailing, until the worst of it has passed. But for now, he’s just congested and raw feeling, but a little bit better than before.

The water turns off, and he turns to face the shower as Juuse’s arm snakes out, grabbing a towel. He pulls it back in the fogged shower, drying himself off, before opening the door and walking out. Juuse looks surprised to see Pekka standing there, but he gives him a smile anyway. “Feeling better this morning? Miro already brought your breakfast up, but I wasn’t sure how well you were feeling.”

Pekka makes a so-so motion with his hand. “I’m feeling okay. My head doesn’t hurt as much, but I had weird dreams, so…I’m not sure how much sleep I actually got.”

Juuse makes a sympathetic noise. “I know, Daddy. You were twitching a lot last night, I got worried.”

He takes Pekka’s arm and walks with him back to the bedroom, dropping his towel on the floor over his clothes. He looks good, toned and fit, and his bruises from earlier sessions are fading. “They’re not going too easy on you down there, are they?”

Juuse just gives him a smile as he steps into his boxers, shimmying into the light grey material. “You know me, Daddy; they never see me coming.” Pekka bemoans the fact that he can’t _do_ anything at this current moment, and Juuse gives him a knowing glance. “Behave.”

Pekka puts his hands up in a mock surrender, making his way back towards the bed. “Alright, alright.” He pauses at the tray, opening it to reveal his usual breakfast order. But the only thing that he feels okay even attempting to put into his body is the toast, so he pulls out a piece and takes a cautious bite.

“I heard back from Olli, by the way. His flight went well, the hotel accommodations are to his satisfaction, and he said that Goldman and Sachs are looking forward to their lunch meeting tomorrow,” Juuse announces, currently moisturizing his legs. “And Tuukka also touched base, pretty much the same with him, but he’s just more jetlagged. I’m sure he’ll be a delight.”

“How come they’re answering you but not me?” Pekka asks, his voice breaking on one of the words. Juuse looks at him in alarm, and Pekka rolls his eyes and takes a sip of water. “I’m losing my voice, it’s fine,” he explains.

“Then stop talking,” Juuse gently admonishes. “But these are the same email, they’re just copying me on them. I asked them to, don’t get all grouchy with them.”

Pekka pouts into his water glass. “I don’t get grouchy.”

Juuse saunters over, putting one hand on Pekka’s bicep. “ _Yes_ , Daddy, you do. Especially when it comes to someone stepping on your toes, despite the fact that they’re _your_ employees, picked by _you_ and _you alone_ to work under you, and jointly picked by _you_ and _me_ to temporarily be in your stead. It’ll be fine.”

“Hmph. If you say so.”

“I do say so.”

Juuse’s determination is cute to Pekka. He reminds him of a kitten, who shows you their soft underbelly in the attempt at catching the shoestring dangled in front of them. But Juuse still has claws, and though Pekka’s yet to see them in use, if they’re anything like his silver tongue then they’re truly formidable. Juuse is his greatest pocket ace, and part of him wants to ask Juuse to just take over for everything else domestic, just to let him recover in peace – but he knows that Juuse will not do much else than what he’s already been doing. For someone who likes to put his influence and his power above others into the world, he only does so in carefully curated moments. His Instagram, his Snapchat, hell even his outfits, are tailored to who he wants to portray in a moment. Right now, with black skinny jeans and a faded graphic t-shirt that he’d twisted and knotted against his hip, he looks like he could be anyone on the street. But the Gucci belt, Adidas sneakers, and Coach wallet jammed in his front pocket say that he’s a boy with connections, a boy you’d want to know. All together, it’s a comfortable appearance because Pekka knows him so well. But it’s an outfit designed to encourage an onlooker to underestimate him, to dare them to not see that just because he’s not carrying a gun doesn’t mean he’s not lethal, and that, Pekka thinks, is his greatest weapon.

But his hair is still fluffy from the shower, and he’s still so young, and if Pekka didn’t feel like a crumbling aqueduct, he might have kissed him. Instead, he nods, and settles a hand on Juuse’s hip. “Where are you off to today?”

“Going to Starbucks for a few hours, I have some work I need to get done, and I’m in the mood for some cold brew,” he says with a grin.

Pekka smiles gently and squeezes his hip in an affectionate, possessive manner. “Be safe out there, it snowed last night.”

Juuse hums his agreement, and moves out of the way so Pekka can get into bed. Pekka’s too tired at this point to put up too much of an argument, so he gets back between the sheets. He didn’t realize how much his body hurt until he’s finally horizontal again, the ache radiating once more from his back.

“Just text me if you need anything, but please try to get as much rest as possible. If anything big happens, I’ll let you know,” Juuse murmurs, already tucking Pekka in. “Just rest. For me.”

Pekka nods, closing his eyes. He feels Juuse press a gentle kiss to his forehead, and then he’s out, completely asleep.

 

* * *

 

Apparently when he sleeps, his fever returns, as do the rest of his symptoms with a vengeance. When he’s not doubled over in pain from the fever and the nausea, he’s giving in to the nausea with feverish intent. Sleeping becomes the only respite he has, and he passes days like this, for the most part too sick to do much of anything. Two, possibly three, days into this vicious cycle, he remembers that he’s supposed to address the House, to let them know who to answer to. But his door hasn’t been broken down with word of anarchy within the Family, so he figures someone, somewhere, has dealt with it.

Juuse flits in and out of the room, sometimes in Pekka’s dreams and sometimes in reality. He brings light food, trying to keep Pekka somewhat nourished with what his body can keep in, and refreshing cloths to wipe the sweat away. The shivers return in full force, and one day, they get so bad he can’t uncurl from the fetal position he’s in. He lost his voice earlier in the week, his throat too raw to attempt speech. So he relies on Juuse asking yes or no questions, and answering him as he sees fit.

Juuse tries not to ask him too many questions, and for that, Pekka is grateful.

 

* * *

 

On the morning of the tenth day, Pekka wakes up without pain in his body nor the pressing urge to throw up in his stomach. He’s still exhausted, and is regulated to breathing out of his mouth only, but he’s finally better. He sits up, marveling at the way it feels to not have every movement questioned by his muscles and nerves. The room around him feels sick, but the sun outside gives him some kind of hope. As he looks out the windows, he sees Juuse standing there, phone pressed to his ear. He doesn’t seem happy, whatever he’s talking about, but Pekka’s too far away and still feeling sleep weak to bother listening further.

Slowly, he stands, knees and back cracking as he’s fully vertical for the first time in days. He shuffles over to the bathroom, beyond relieved that it’s not to cling to the toilet like a hung over college student, and sheds his sweat slick clothing, going into the shower. As he shampoos his hair, he doesn’t bother letting out a small hoarse moan. It’s the first bit of hygiene he’s been able to do fully autonomously in _days._ He feels clear headed enough when he leaves the shower that he’s able to shave, and that makes him feel more human than he has in a long while.

When he returns to the bedroom, Juuse’s already at work, pulling the sheets off the bed and putting them in a pile on the floor by the door, where Miro or another lower ranking Family member will grab them. There’s already a pair of joggers and a pain t-shirt laid out on the chaise by the fireplace, complete with his Rolex and phone which, from the smell of it, had both been recently disinfected.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Daddy,” Juuse hums, taking used tissues and medicine wrappers and throwing them in a small trash can. “Miikka has breakfast for you downstairs, Kari’s waiting for you.”

Pekka hums as he gets dressed, coming his fingers through his hair. Juuse clicks his tongue and comes over, grabbing a comb from his dresser as he walks through the room. He gently combs through the golden mess, humming softly under his breath. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, though. If it had been much longer, we would have had to take you to a hospital. Your fever was near 40 for a few hours,” Juuse murmurs.

“Thank you for taking care of me,” Pekka replies, his voice soft both to preserve the intimacy of the moment and because his voice can’t handle much louder volume right now.

“Of course, Daddy. Anything for you.”

They kiss, however briefly, and Pekka has to refrain from letting the kiss deepen, and letting it turn into something else. He pulls back, just in time to see Juuse’s ice blue eyes slowly open. “Beautiful.”

Juuse blushes, as Pekka expected. “We’re going to be late,” he mumbles, looking askance, but Pekka knows it’s not because he disagrees. He hesitates to imagine what he must have looked like the past couple of days, most of which he doesn’t remember, save for glimpses here and there fogged by his delirium. Juuse takes his hand and leads him out of the room. The hallway has the clearest air Pekka can remember feeling in a long while, and he wants to revel in it a bit more, but it’s clear that they truly will be late.

Downstairs, Kari waits in the dining room, multiple notebooks spread out over the table. He’s currently writing something down in one of them, the rest of the scratch paper not hidden by his hand covered in numbers and strikethroughs. “Good morning,” Juuse announces, and Kari looks up. He does a double take at Pekka’s presence, and smiles through the shock.

“Glad to see you back on your feet,” he intones, and Pekka gives him a warm smile.

“It’s good to be back,” he whispers, not wanting to test his voice so far. Kari looks at Juuse with concern, but Juuse waves off his look with a small gesture towards his throat. He settles into the seat that Juuse pulls out for him, opening the silver dome and pulling it towards him. The breakfast isn’t quite what he wants, but he knows his stomach can’t handle the fried eggs he’d developed a taste for while living in America, but the porridge reminds him of home, so he’ll take it. His usual mug of coffee is still replaced with tea, but the sip he takes feels nice on his throat.

“We might be expecting some guests later on – Tuukka landed last night, and he and Olli stayed the night here,” Kari explains, addressing Juuse directly.

Juuse nods, drumming his pink painted nails on the mahogany table. “Yeah, I ran into him in the kitchen. Raleigh hasn’t given you any trouble since you left, right?”

Kari shakes his head. “Not in the slightest. They’re excited to do business with us, and I think Sebastian might be the one to set up a House around.”

“Sebastian is younger than me, that’s a horrible idea.”

“Maybe so, but he gets along well with the Canadians, and it’s easier for younger men to play off needing roommates. We could get three, maybe four, for the price of one,” Kari responds.

“Hmph. I want to meet with him first.”

Kari makes a note in the black book to his right, nodding quietly. As he’s writing, there’s a knock on the closed doors. They swing open, revealing Olli, who would look relaxed in jeans and a t-shirt, were it not for his crossed arms. “Feeling better, Boss?” he asks, coming in and standing behind Kari.

“Yes, thank you.”

Olli nods still looking so serious for the fact that he’s only a year or so older than Juuse. Pekka thinks in another world, Juuse might have wound up as one of these guys, another one to be trusted but not necessarily let in on entire plans. But he likes this timeline, where Juuse falls asleep in his arms all the time, and takes care of him when he’s sick. “Glad to hear it.”

“You may sit with us,” Juuse offers, gesturing to the bench space next to Kari. Olli obediently takes a seat, and Pekka feels a step behind – half of what Juuse’s done so far is usually his job, while Juuse sits besides him playing around on his phone. Now, the roles have been reversed, and he’s not sure how he feels about it.

“Goldman and Sachs sent the contract back – we have signatures from a guy in Legal and a guy in HR. Bought and paid for, as asked for,” Olli explains, his arms still not uncrossed. “It has Boss’ signature already on it, so we’re good to go.”

“Perfect. How’s the New York House doing?”

“Good. They run things a little bit differently up there, but Antti sends his regards. Raanta, that is. I haven’t heard from Niemi in a while.”

“Canada is a different debate,” Juuse says firmly. Olli looks confused, but he hides it behind a stoic mask, while Kari makes a face at the paper he’s currently writing on, biting his lower lip as if that’ll somehow obscure the expression. Pekka wonders what that’s about, but before he can ask, Juuse continues, “What about Tuukka?”

Here, Kari speaks up. “He should be coming by any time.”

Juuse hums, and reaches a hand over to settle on Pekka’s wrist. “Daddy, you okay?” he asks softly, switching to English. Both Kari and Olli know more than enough English to understand what he says, Pekka knows that it’s the thought that counts. “You’ve hardly finished.”

It’s true. He’s barely half way done with the porridge, and his tea is just starting to become a little too cool to comfortably drink.  “Just startled, is all…How long was I out, again?”

“Ten days,” Juuse says, dismayed. “It was hard, but I think we’ve done pretty good. Kari’s a genius.”

Pekka spares a glance to where Kari and Olli are obviously trying not to listen, Kari adding the same numbers over and over and Olli studying some pattern in the wood of the table. “That he is,” he murmurs.

The door echoes with another knock, before it opens to reveal Tuukka. His relaxation seems to come from exhaustion, but he did fly thirteen hours into the future, so. Pekka can forgive him for being tired. His reaction to seeing Pekka is much the same as Olli, and once again Juuse sits up to direct the meeting. Pekka learns that everything’s gone pretty much according to plan in Shanghai. Juuse asks the same questions that leap to the tip of Pekka’s tongue, efficiently extracting the information he wants. The meeting’s concluded in short order, leaving Pekka with something cold in his stomach that has nothing to do with the flu nor his porridge.  Juuse pretends not to notice that something is wrong, and while normally Pekka finds is faux innocent routine to be endearing, now it’s starting to chafe. Just who does he think he is? Tuukka, Olli, and Kari can sense the tension rising and they do the smart thing, ducking out of the room with farewells and well wishes towards Pekka’s recovery.

When Juuse and Pekka are left alone in the room, Juuse won’t meet his gaze. Pekka’s voice is still barely present, but he’ll use what little he has left to try to get some answers – at least, he plans to, until he hears Juuse let out a sigh of relief. “I’m so happy you’re feeling better, Daddy. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep doing this.”

Pekka’s caught off guard for the fourth time in as many hours, and he’s not liking the trend. “What do you mean?”

Juuse picks his head up, propping his chin against the back of his hand. “It’s so exhausting being in meeting after meeting, and it’s even worse trying to…to tiptoe the line of how much I can say that I know and how much I have to be all ‘oh wow, that _is_ amazing, please tell me more.’ It’s so tiring.”

At this, Pekka feels the cold in his stomach starting to come undone, dissolving into nothingness. “It is a hard job, little one. It’s why I try to keep you away from politics.”

“This was hardly politics, Daddy, but those happened too. Niemi has his hands full trying to keep the French-Canadians from making a move down here, they’ve been trying to siphon off this Goldman and Sachs deal for pretty much the entire time that you were out sick. Price wanted to meet in person, and when I showed up instead of you, well. He’s not stupid.” Juuse turns his head this way and that, cracking his neck loudly in the silent room. “So Niemi’s been doing the best he can, Kari and I have been together trying to fill your shoes here, and Tuukka is the. _Worst._ Person to try to be on the phone with. I don’t know how you do it, Daddy, I really don’t.”

Pekka clicks his tongue softly in support, wrapping his arm around Juuse’s shoulders and pulling him in close. Juuse goes willingly, soft and pliant in his arms, and nestles against Pekka’s chest. “Don’t even get me started on the Swedes,” he mumbles into the soft cotton.

Pekka has to laugh at that. “Little one, it’s okay,” he whispers. “You’ve done _amazingly_ well. I’m sorry that you had to pick up the slack here, though. Kari could have handled it himself though.”

“He could have, but I didn’t want him to have to go through it himself. And everyone saw me, your arm candy, so whoops my cover as your idiot boytoy is kinda blown at this point. At least, to a few people.” He shudders slightly, and Pekka tightens his grip. It’s not saying much, given that he’s still sick, but it’s more than he’s been able to manage in days.

“Did something happen in particular?”

“Letang was at a meeting,” Juuse admits, and Pekka doesn’t bother to restrain his eye roll. “He…doesn’t make for easy democratic resolutions.”

“Who was there with you?”

“I took Esa, Kari, and Valtteri,” Juuse answers. “Which, yanno. They’re quick draws too but no one got shot. Lu and Kari kinda, de-escalated everything before it got too bad.”

Pekka hums and makes a mental note to check in with the three other Finns about how the meeting went, and why Juuse elected to take them of all people, but Juuse finally seems relaxed in his arms and he’s not going to tempt fate so soon. “Well, I’m thankful for what you have done so far. This is far more than I would have ever asked of you, though. You don’t have to do this.”

Juuse twists a little so he can look up at Pekka. “Daddy,” he says in all seriousness. “I know I don’t _have_ to. I don’t even _like_ to. But I _wanted_ to, to help you. A few less things to worry about, so you could just focus on getting better. Besides,” Juuse murmurs, sitting up now and settling his hand on Pekka’s chest. “You would have been completely useless over the past couple of days anyway. You were barely conscious.”

“Okay, true,” Pekka admits. Outside, the sun from before had become dappled with storm clouds, heralded by the crack of thunder above. Juuse jumps at the sound, and Pekka tucks him back against his side. “Wanna watch a movie?” he offers, knowing he can get some work done while Juuse tries to ignore the storm outside.

He agrees, and the two of them make their way to the movie room, where Juuse immediately settles into the large leather recliners, throwing a soft blanket over his body. Pekka takes a seat beside him, on the connected pair, and snuggles up to Juuse. Though he’s not feverish, he still runs warmer than Juuse, and Juuse hums softly. “Thank you, Daddy.”

Pekka kisses the top of his head in response.

 

* * *

 

Over the course of the next few days, Pekka gets better and better, until his symptoms are completely gone. It feels good to have his body back to himself, but it feels even better to have his businesses back under his control. Maybe he wouldn’t mind handing over the reins every so often if the context was better, but being plagued by influenza isn’t the ideal situation…at all. His House returns back to normal, and the heads of his other Houses send him their small celebratory notes. Juuse makes a mock shrine of them on Pekka’s dresser, laughing to himself every time another one arrives. It’s not until Pekka actually views them from above rather than straight on that he realizes that Juuse’s arranged them geographically.

“So you know who’s closest to you, geography be damned,” Juuse answers as he plays Candy Crush on Pekka’s phone.

He doesn’t have an answer to that.

 

* * *

 

About two weeks later, in the earliest days of April, Pekka’s back in bed, but for much more pleasurable reasons. Juuse’s shirtless beneath him, whining softly as he traces down his body, fingers gentle over the bruises and scars across his torso. He feels so good like this, rutting against Pekka’s thigh – it’s not enough to get either of them to come, but it feels good enough that he doesn’t try to make him stop. Pekka hums as he litters kisses and bites down Juuse’s neck and shoulders, drawing small moans from Juuse. The moans get quieter, turning to soft gasps and little choked sounds as he gets closer to Juuse’s waistband, his tongue licking along the sensitive skin there.

He grips the edge of the boxers between his teeth, looking up to Juuse’s flushed face as he begins to pull them down. Juuse lifts his hips on impulse, trying to get Pekka to pull them off all the way, but the sound of a phone ringing pulls him out of it. He lets the waistband fall from his mouth with a muffled snap against Juuse’s skin, reaching over to the bedside table to get his phone.

He doesn’t recognize the number, but before he can swipe to answer the call, Juuse’s plucking the phone out of his hand, tossing it back to the bedside table. When Pekka looks at him, he catches but a split second of Juuse’s irritation and desperation before he’s being pulled into a hungry kiss. Somehow, he winds up on his back, Juuse straddling him and grinding his hips down.

“Ah, _fuck,_ ” he whispers, biting his lip as he bucks his hips up, his hands settling on Juuse’s hips.

“That’s the idea,” Juuse breathlessly teases, bracing himself on Pekka’s chest as he rolls his hips back.

Pekka lets him continue for a moment before rolling him back over, taking Juuse’s boxers off in one fluid movement. Juuse gasps at the feeling, and as Pekka lowers his head to take Juuse’s cock into his mouth, he groans so low and slow that Pekka feels it in his very soul. He takes broader licks down, ignoring Juuse’s cock sporadically as he eats him out. He holds Juuse’s thighs down against the bed, beyond thrilled at the way Juuse shivers with every pass of his tongue. He gets wetter and wetter as the minutes tick by, until Pekka can hear him gasping, “Please, Daddy, please fuck me, please please **_please._** ”

Not one to deny his baby boy anything, he pulls back, licking his lips. Juuse opens his eyes, and sits up only to drag Pekka over top of him in a desperate kiss. His hands insistently push at the waistband of his boxers, and Pekka helps him along, pushing them off his body and tossing them onto the floor. Rolling his hips, his cock brushing against Juuse’s, gets a broken gasp from them both. Pekka does it one, two, three more times, before Juuse’s squirming again, reaching between them and taking Pekka’s cock in his hand. He puts it against his entrance, rubbing the tip through his wetness.

“Please,” he begs again, voice cracking oh so prettily.

Pekka lets Juuse line them up, and he pushes in, slow and steady. He watches with a kind of possessive pride as Juuse’s eyes flutter back and close, overwhelmed with pleasure as he is. Pekka comes to a stop midway through, giving Juuse time to adjust. But that’s not what Juuse wants, and he makes it clear through the glare he gives him, wrapping his legs around Pekka’s waist and trying to wiggle closer. Through a small laugh, Pekka continues until they’re fully connected, Juuse’s mouth open in a silent scream of pleasure.

The first roll of Pekka’s hips makes Juuse’s entire body twitch. The second gets a punched out noise from him, and the third earns Pekka a breathless, “ _Thank you_.” Pekka lowers his head to Juuse’s neck, biting and sucking as his hips find a rhythm, angling ever so slightly to the left to try to get Juuse’s g-spot. He knows when he hits it from the way Juuse tightens all around him, and it’s almost enough to push Pekka completely over the edge. Pekka bites down, sucking hard, leaving what he knows will be a long lasting dark bruise on Juuse’s fair skin.

He sits back up, bracing his hands on Juuse’s knees and watches the pleasure racing through Juuse’s body. The smaller Finn blushes, tries to cover his face with his arms to shield himself from Pekka’s gaze. Pekka reaches down between them, wetting his fingers against Juuse’s entrance and then slowly jerking Juuse off. He gasps and almost twists his hips out of Pekka’s grasp, but he’s trapped. He’s forced to just take the pleasure, and the helpless way Juuse finally surrenders to it, coming with a high whimper, pushes Pekka over the edge. He prolongs their pleasure with slower rolls of his hips, spreading the mess between the two of them, forcing little shivers out of them both.

Around the sixth or seventh time, Juuse reaches down to push him back, starting to edge to the uncomfortable kind of overstimulation. Pekka obliges, pulling free with a wet pop. He admires the mess they’ve made of themselves, Juuse still trembling however slightly from the sex they’d just had. He cleans them up with his discarded boxers, before collecting Juuse in his arms, holding him tight.

Juuse’s shivers slowly settle down, his breathing and pulse coming to a more restful rate. “Missed that,” he mumbles, nuzzling closer until he’s just a mop of brown hair in Pekka’s arms, his breath ghosting against his chest.

Pekka kisses the little mop of hair, humming in agreement. “Me too, little one.”

Juuse replies something, which is lost in a series of vibrations against his sternum. Pekka makes a questioning noise, and Juuse surfaces, his eyes alight with humor. “I said, this is a much better reason to be hot, sweaty, and panting in bed.”

Pekka just huffs, but Juuse kisses the frown off his face, and he has to admit; Juuse does have a point.

**Author's Note:**

> you know i had to do it to 'em. hmu on [tumblr](https://matskreider.tumblr.com/) to talk more about this or what have you


End file.
